This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present techniques. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present techniques. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
Asphaltenes may be problematic in oil in production fluids. Asphaltenes are generally dissolved in production fluids at typical reservoir pressures and temperatures. However, the asphaltenes may precipitate and drop out of production fluid as pressure is reduced in the conveyance and processing of the production fluid. Asphaltene deposits may foul piping and equipment, including wellhead equipment, pipelines, surface facilities, process piping, downstream refining operations, and so forth. Conventional remediation includes solvent washing or mechanical treatment of piping and equipment to remove the deposited asphaltenes. Remediation may alternately or additionally include the addition of chemical dispersants to the production fluid to hinder precipitation of the asphaltenes. These solutions carry certain disadvantages, for example, a solvent wash may require several hours of downtime and may introduce significant cost and environmental concerns associated with the solvents. Further, it may be difficult to consistently add chemical dispersants to the production fluid to avoid deposition because the operating region of precipitation of the asphaltenes may vary and, in some instances, may occur prior to addition of the chemical dispersant. In part due to this lack of consistent asphaltenes, the efficiency of the treatment may vary as process factors such as composition, pressure/temperature profiles, etc., change.
As a result of the above, a need exists for a technique to minimize or eliminate asphaltene deposits that does not suffer the drawbacks of the conventional remediation approach of adding chemical dispersants.